How many of you use computer dictation, whether in the forum or on other things that you write? I hurt my thumb on some dry ice a couple of days ago and it hurts more now than it did before. So I'm having trouble typing. I wouldn't have believed how important my thumb was to me in pressing that space key until I tried typing with it the way it is. Whenever I use my thumb to press the space key, it hurts. It hurts pretty bad, actually. When I can remember to do so, I've been using the thumb on my other hand, or I have been using my index finger. However, after nearly 60 years of typing, it's difficult to learn a new way to type. So, I keep using my injured thumb to hit the space key and I keep hurting myself. I am using dictation right now, as a matter of fact. Although I have had a Mac, which does this very well, this is the first time I have ever tried to use dictation. Actually, I did have a program for Windows machines several years ago that I tried when I had injured one of my hands, but it really sucked. It was bad, I found that I was doing so many corrections that I may as well I've been typing it myself. However, this is working very well. My wife uses dictation and has been doing so for quite a while, and she says that a Mac learns from its mistakes and gets better over time, but it's doing pretty darned well right now. It makes some mistakes; when I say "key" it types K. although I forget to specify punctuation, my spellcheck fixes those problems for me, so that's not really a problem after all. I don't know how it deals with distractions like television, however. I guess I'll figure that out. I know my wife has the television on upstairs, and she tells me that she uses dictation a lot. So, maybe it learns to pick out the voice it is supposed to listen to and to ignore the others. If I decide that I'm going to continue using dictation, or if my thumb takes so long to heal that I won't have a choice, I guess I'll find that out. Despite the occasional corrections, the errors that I have to fix are perhaps fewer than the typos that I make when I'm typing myself, especially with a hurt thumb. Since I work 30 hours a week at a web directory job, which involves writing category and site descriptions all day, I have been using dictation to do that today. Perhaps since dictation is new to me, I have had the television off. Perhaps tomorrow, I'll try it with the television on. One thing that I have noticed, is that when I am dictating something, I use different wording than I would use if I were typing it. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. My descriptions are different, but I haven't been able to figure out if they are better or worse. Do any of you use dictation? I don't know about Windows programs, but the built-in dictation that comes with a Mac works pretty well. I'm going to have to play around with it a little more before I can decide whether I like it enough to use it on a regular basis. I used to be able to type more than 100 words a minute but, with a little bit of arthritis in my fingers and perhaps some eyesight difficulties, my typing is and all that fast anymore, although it's faster than a lot of other people. I might find that I want to keep doing this, particularly if I can still watch television while doing so.
In rereading my first post, I have noticed that, while I was watching the dictation typed the correct words at times, spellcheck would come along and change it to something else when I wasn't looking. So, while spellcheck would fix some problems, it created others. So, it looks like I'll have to proofread everything before I post it, particularly in my job, which I have been doing.
Man, that sucks. Interesting observation that we organize before we speak and stream-of-consciousness through our fingers. I can understand it. To the extent we type more than we speak, I think it's a bad thing. We forget how to formulate and explain, we just dump. Years ago a friend (a lawyer) has a wrist problem and used Dragon Naturally Speaking with mixed results. It was the premier product at the time. I don't know if it has improved since then. The issue might have been his legal-speak that was not of common usage. I just went on the web and discovered that WIN10 has built-in "Voice Typing" in addition to being able to use voice commands. I had no idea. Obviously, I'd try that before I purchased a dedicated program...or is that what you're playing around with already? What a pain in the butt.
I've never used dictation on a computer, but I occasionally use it for responding to a text or email on my phone. I HATE the tiny keyboard on a cellphone, so if my response is more than a couple of words, I use the dictation feature.
This may sound like a silly suggestion, but with your contacts in the medical (and helping) communities, could you ask around to see what is being used by those with permanent disabilities that prevent them from typing? I would think that population has vetted more products via long-term use than those of us just trying to limp along on a temporary basis.
Although I had seen the warnings, I didn't realize that dry ice could be such a problem. It's been about a week now, and my thumb is worse every day. For the first couple of days after contacting the dry ice, I could still type. Now, I am still using a combination of trying to type and using dictation.
That stinks. It seems that an adjacent finger can take up the slack,but a thumb has a unique function. I have no experience with dry ice injuries, but it does not sound good.
As a follow-up, I have been using dictation today while watching television. Although it does occasionally pick up something from the television, as long as I don't keep the volume up too loud, that's not usually a problem. I do have to pay attention, however; but I would do that anyhow.
It might. I didn't want to use the headset though, because I like to have the television on while I'm working. I do have a separate microphone that I might try tomorrow. It's not a big problem though, as there have only been a couple of times that it tried to transcribe what was said on the television.
Horror of horrors, I might have to see a doctor about my thumb. It's not getting any better. I am still using dictation; in fact, I'm using it for pretty much everything. I have to make corrections by hand, but that's about it. I would rather be able to type the stuff in because I think my writing is better when I type it than when I dictate it. As for using the microphone, I tried it and it doesn't seem to make any difference. With the microphone, it seems just as likely to pick up ambient voices than without it, so I'm doing without. Mostly, it doesn't pick up the television unless I pause in my dictation. Lacking my own voice, I guess it takes what it can get. Overall though, the default Mac dictation utility works pretty well.